Mayor Larry Gilbert

Twin City Mayors Kick-Off "WINTERIZE L/A" Weekend

Twin City Mayors Kicked-Off "WINTERIZE L/A" Weekend on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at Pineland Lumber in Lewiston. Lewiston Mayor Larry Gilbert and Auburn Mayor John Jenkins provided a rousing send-off for the first round of volunteers as they go out to help their neighbors in the community. Joining the mayors were representatives from the WINTERIZE L/A partners, which included Bates College, the United Way of Androscoggin County, Community Concepts, Building Materials Exchange, Dead River Company, BIOSAFE Environmental Services and Pineland Lumber.

WINTERIZE L/A is a newly formed collaboration of area municipalities, non-profits and local businesses and volunteers hoping to winterize 100 homes in Lewiston and Auburn for the upcoming winter. Volunteers installed winterizing materials in the homes of low-income homeowners in downtown Lewiston/Auburn.

City officials will be working on more homes in November and anyone who would like to be considered for the program can call the city. They are also looking for volunteers to help with the work.

If you would like to help, call Mark McComas, 207-513-3126

Related News Link:

[Sun Journal]

[News 8 WMTW]

Mayor's Corner: A Mayor’s role is as a community facilitator and supporter

Twin City Times- Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Mayor's Corner #110

In cities such as Lewiston and Auburn where there is a strong council, weak mayor and city manager form of government, the mayor’s role takes on other forms of public service. That isn’t to say that a mayor has no means of influence because he or she does.

There is always the “bully pulpit” which in and of itself can take many forms. Certainly this Mayor’s Corner of the Twin City Times is a means of communicating and acting as a community facilitator or supporter to help people achieve their dreams, be that in the form of volunteerism, business, public service and the list goes on.

Other means of functioning as a community facilitator and supporter is through the use of other media such as cable television, attending meetings, writing letters of support.  A mayor’s role is an active one.

Ceremonial groundbreaking with shovels or ribbon cutting at grand openings occur often and are opportunities to celebrate the efforts of many, be that for a business or school opening. They generally require the delivery of a speech. Such would not be possible without the able and extraordinary assistance of the likes of a Dottie Perham-Whittier, Lewiston’s Community Relations Coordinator who writes the speeches and coordinates the activity. The mayor’s support is only made possible with such behind the scenes assistance.

There are those who are involved in teaching our young children, be that at a day care or a school. For example, Estelle Rubinstein the Executive Director of Head Start has invited mayors to come read to pre-school children and have lunch with them. The Ready Read program has been another means of being supportive by reading to children at day care centers. Then there is Ms. Andrea Bail a fourth grade teacher at Martel School who invites “mystery readers” readers to her class that includes the mayor.

Mayor's Corner: Mayors’ Institute on City Design at Northeastern University

Twin City Times- Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
Mayor's Corner #109

On August 21, 2009, I received a letter from Mr. George Thrush, FAIA, and Director of the School of Architecture at Northeastern University in Boston. He wrote that I was selected as one of a small group of mayors to participate in the October 7-9, 2009 session of the Mayors Institute on City Design (MICD). The institute is sponsored through the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Architectural Foundation, and the United States Conference of Mayor. There was no cost to the City of Lewiston.

The letter stated that since 1986, the Mayors’ Institute has helped transform communities through design by preparing mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities. This particular institute was hosted by the School of Architecture at Northeastern University. It brought together 7 mayors and a select group of planners, architects, landscape designers and other national experts who explored opportunities in each of our cities. It gave us the opportunity to learn new approaches to some of the urban challenges confronting our communities.

Last month Mr. Daniel Hewett who is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Northeastern’s School of Architecture traveled here to Lewiston. Acting City Administrator Phil Nadeau, Assistant to the City Administrator Lincoln Jeffers, Energy Sczar Ian Houseal and I met with him at city hall for a couple of hours discussing the proposed strategic plan covering the Riverfront Island area of downtown Lewiston. This area encompasses all of Island Point, Canal Street to Cedar Street and the river front all the way back to Island Point near the Great Falls. The entire area is encircled by water be it by our canals or the Androscoggin River.

We provided Mr. Hewett with a briefing of what has been developed in the area as well as what is proposed for the area. We stressed to him that our canals and the river are resources that we have that have not been developed for enjoyment by our community and in particular our young adults. 

We explained that with our educational institutions in Lewiston-Auburn, we educate our young people only to have them leave to work in areas where there is a great deal of vitality and recreational activity for them to enjoy. If we are to retain and attract an educated workforce to bring in industries and economic development, we must be able to demonstrate that we have such a workforce here in order for employers and developers to invest in this area.

Mayor's Corner: International Association of Francophone Mayors in Paris

Twin City Times- Thursday, October 15th, 2009
Mayor's Corner #108

As mayor of Maine’s second largest city, I was honored to be recommended by Ms. France Dionne, the Quebec Government Delegate to New England based in Boston to attend the 30th anniversary of the International Association of Francophone Mayors in Paris, France during the period October 1-6, 2009. In attendance were mayors from throughout the world.

Upon my arrival at Charles de Gaulle International Airport, I was greeted by Mr. David Elkaïm, the Chargé de Mission Affaires Générales and Mr. François Hemon, who served as my chauffeur during my stay in Paris. It was early morning and like most major cities, there was a traffic jam, so it took us over an hour to get to the Hotel Scribe next to Garnier’s Opera House.  Like everything in Paris, it is a very ornate building. 

On Monday, October 2nd, my chauffeur picked me up at the hotel and drove me to the Petit Palais, which wasn’t so petit but quite grand. There was a military orchestra waiting for us and a red carpet leading us all the way up the stairs to a grand entrance with gold leaf gates. My driver insisted on opening the door for me so that he would be proper. The place looked like a palace. My name was on a chair in the first row and there were about 200 in attendance.

The event started with a procession led by former President of France, Mr. Jacques Chirac and Mr. Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, and the President of the Association Internationale des Maires Francophones (AIMF). During the séance solonnelle d’ouverture, President Chirac spoke of his creation of the organization 30 years ago when he and the former Mayor of Quebec City started the organization. Mayor Delanoë talked about the ongoing work of the association. It was stated that more than half of the world’s population lives in cities.

Mr. Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal from 1996 to 2006 spoke on the creation of “Dialogue Café. This is a pilot program in six cities throughout the world where young people will communicate via HDTV where they will meet and exchange ideas dealing with cultural diplomacy, human rights, inter-cultural dialogue and inter-religious dialogue. It is amazing what can be accomplished around a cup of coffee. It sort of reminds me of my “Coffee’s with the Mayor,” yet on a grandeur scale.

Mayor’s Corner: Don’t trash my L-A’s; East and West

Twin City Times- Thursday, October 8th, 2009
Mayor's Corner #107

Three writers recently wrote about L.A. East (Lewiston-Auburn) and L.A. West (Los Angeles).  The articles that appeared in the Lewiston Sun-Journal on Sunday September 20, 2009 stirred a bit of passion in me as I have lived in both.

Elliott Epstein in his Inside Maine Rear View Mirror column entitle “Postcard from Los Angeles” wrote “having traveled to California’s L.A late last month, I can state categorically that Maine’s L.A. has no reason to be defensive.” He went on to write “If Lewiston-Auburn is viewed as a stagnant New England mill town struggling to re-invent itself, Los Angeles is the poster child for explosive but shortsighted and often self-destructive growth.” 

From there he went on to trash Los Angeles by pointing out its faults such as water shortage, traffic, forest fires, etc. He closed his column by saying “in short, if you’re harkening for the Los Angeles experience, watch a Hollywood movie or Burbank television show, but if you want a life, stay home and enjoy the “other L.A.”

His one week experience there is apparently contrary to the millions who chose to make their home there and “have a life.” I firmly believe that if Angelinos were asked, they would paint a far different postcard of Los Angeles and vicinity than Epstein has. I will paint my postcard below in this column.

Another bit of trashing on L.A. came from Jonathan Labonte in his column entitle Inside Maine; Steps Forward on Sunday, September 27, 2009, where he wrote about my speaking of the “Broken Window Theory” dealing with litter and graffiti.  He says that I have talked about it ad nauseam. I guess I could say that he talks about the Androscoggin Land Trust, L-A Trails, etc. ad nauseam. I applaud him for that as he should well know that a message has to be repeated over and over. That is why corporations and politicians spend millions in advertising to get their message to stick. When have you ever seen a television ad once and never see it again? The answer is obvious.

Mayor’s Corner: Health Care Reform; Just do it and do it right!

Twin City Times- Thursday, October 1st, 2009
Mayor's Corner #106

It seems to me that we elected President Barack Obama by an overwhelming majority last November when he campaigned on Health Care Reform.  He is now the President of the United States and the insurance lobbyists are all over Washington, D.C. reminding members of congress and the President of their significant contributions to their campaigns.

The same old arguments are being made by those who wish to continue profiting.  Even prior to my birth in 1945, the arguments against insuring all Americans were that it is too expensive. That was the old argument against Social Security and Medicare. I’ve yet to have seen throughout my lifetime anyone who may have argued against those government programs turn them down.  Such government programs have in fact worked because they were administered by the government and not those who are motivated by greed with hefty multi-million dollar bonuses and profit for investors.

The health care system in our country is truly crippling small businesses and families to the point where our citizens are now taking their chances on not becoming sick by going without insurance or they are choosing high deductibles.  One of my own children is working for a small business that cannot provide health insurance and so she is chancing it by working hard at being physically fit.

The 40 to 50 million people in this country who have no health insurance go to emergency rooms for health care instead of to a doctor’s office if they had health insurance. Emergency room care is the most expensive.  So, who pays for such care as certainly the cost of providing it certainly doesn’t go away.  Yes, it is those of us who are fortunate enough to have health insurance.  Consequently, the cost of health care is driven higher as a result.

4th Graders at Montello Elementary Celebrate United States Conference of Mayors "National Dollar Wi$e Week" with Mayor Gilbert

 
Students in Katrina Denis' 4th grade class at Lewiston's Montello Elementary talked with Mayor Larry Gilbert, on Tuesday, September 29th about the importance of being "Dollar Wi$e."
 
The United States Conference of Mayors National Dollar Wi$e Campaign recently declared September 26 - October 3 as Dollar Wi$e Week with a theme of "Preparing Youth for a Dollar Wi$e Future."  As such, mayors across the nation were encouraged to interact with students in local schools to emphasize the importance of instilling healthy attitudes and skills relating to wise personal financial management.
 
Denis' class was selected due to the fact that she facilitates a "classroom economy" with her students, whereby students earn credits, known as Eagle Bucks, for their weekly jobs, good deeds, etc., and are debited if they don't stack their chairs or need to buy a pencil, folder, etc.  Every other Friday is "Payday," and the students may purchase something from the classroom store with their Eagle Bucks, save what they've earned, or give some of their Eagle Bucks to an ongoing actual donation to the SPCA by Mrs. Denis.
 
During his visit, Gilbert talked with students about the choices they can make with money earned and played an interactive game with them demonstrating how to earn money, what happens if the money is spent, and what happens if it is saved.
 
Dustin Joyce, National Dollar Wi$e Campaign Manager, noted, "Our youth are at a teachable moment in their lives, and the habits they form and the decisions they make now will help determine a lifelong attitude toward personal finances.  As parents, teachers, and leaders, we are in a trusted position to teach these youth the skills they need to make wise financial decisions now and in the future."
 
Upon completion of his visit, Gilbert presented each of the students with donated Dollar Wi$e items from the United States Conference of Mayors in DC--to include backpacks and lunch bags--as well as donated  start-up Monty Moose savings account certificates, money pouch, and pencils from Community Credit Union, Lewiston.

(Photo: Mayor Gilbert with 4th grader Kaitlyn Vye)